The present invention relates to a display stand and more particularly, relates to a display stand suitable for use in a restaurant or the like for holding containers of cream and sugar.
Coffee and tea are very popular drinks and are served by eating establishments of all types ranging from street vendors serving fast food through cafeterias and more traditional cafes and restaurants. Many drinkers of coffee and tea use a sweetener and a dairy product to mix in the coffee or tea. The sweetener may be either sugar or one of the commercially available synthetic sweeteners while the dairy products may include milk and/or cream. For simplicity, the terms cream and sugar will be used herein with it being understood that they will include the various options and alternatives thereto.
Typically, the sugar is dispensed in paper containers having individual portions while the cream is dispensed in a cup like container which is normally of a plastic and sealed on the top with a paper product lining.
To provide the small quantities of sugar or artificial sweeteners available to suit the individual taste of a given person is not a problem as the containers of the same may be safely stored at room temperature for long periods of time. However, whenever a dairy product such as milk or cream is utilized, it has a limited shelf life unless it is refrigerated. Typically, regulations call for a container of a dairy product not to be exposed to room temperature for more than six hours.
To keep the dairy products reasonably fresh, one option is to store them in a shallow bath of ice and water such as in an open top bowl or tray. While this is functional to extend the shelf life of the cream, sanitary problems can arise since anyone who has germs in his or her hand will soon contaminate the entire bath.
It has been proposed in the art to provide for refrigerated devices in which the small containers of the dairy product may be stored. Thus, there have been proposals in the art to use refrigeration devices to keep the containers of dairy products refrigerated. However, this is not practical when space is limited such as when they are placed at a table at which patrons are eating.
Accordingly, there is a requirement for an arrangement wherein the small dairy containers may be stored at a table or the like and wherein they are easy to replace and which provides a sanitary environment for the containers.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a holder for creamers having a tapered side wall, the holder comprising a housing having a plurality of supporting members extending downwardly therefrom, the housing having a plurality of openings therein, each opening extending through the housing, each of the openings being sized to retain a dairy creamer inserted therein by engaging an upper portion of the tapered side wall thereof, and a central opening located in a central portion of the housing sized to receive a mounting member.
In greater detail, there is provided a system for storing, displaying and transporting creamers in a restaurant or like facility. In this respect, the word creamers is then to cover all small containers of a dairy product, whether they actually contain cream or some other milk or similar product. The containers are those which have a base and an outwardly tapering side wall such that the diameter at the top is greater than the diameter at the bottom. The opening is generally sealed with a flexible film material such as treated paper or plastic. In lieu of the tapered wall, there may be provided a rim at the outlet thereof.
The base member of the present invention comprises a holder which is preferably formed as an integral member, either of a plastic or a metallic material. In this respect, when formed of a plastic material, the product may be suitably molded while it is formed of a metallic material, bending operations may be employed.
The holder comprises a housing having feet or supporting members associated therewith for supporting the housing on both flat and other surfaces as will be discussed in greater detail hereinbelow. A portion of the housing has apertures formed therein, this portion of the housing being located sufficiently distant from the supporting members or feet such that a creamer may be inserted therein. At this end, each of the apertures is sized to have a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the creamer proximate the mouth portion thereof.
As aforementioned, the base member includes a plurality of receptacles therein. Preferably, there are at least two such receptacles, one being designed to receive sugar packets with the second receptacle being designed to receive utensils for stirring the beverage. In a particularly preferred embodiment, a third receptacle could be employed similar to the receptacle for the sugar packetsxe2x80x94this third receptacle could be designed to receive artificial sweeteners or other products.
The upper portion of the holder is designed to receive individual creamers and to this end, will include a plurality of circular receptacles, each one being designed to receive a single creamer.
An advantage of the instant invention, particularly for the creamers, is the easy replacement of the same and being able to identify how many have been used.
The holder of the present invention is designed such that a plurality of such holders may be utilized. To this end, the supporting members are sized and situated such that a plurality of holders may be placed one on top of the other, each one being supported by the one underneath. The supporting members will preferably have an angled bottom surface or element such that they will seat properly on the holder below.
Preferably, there are also provided means for transporting a plurality of the holders, and to this end, there may be provided a carrier member which has an elongated body sized to fit within the central opening of the creamers similar to that of the post member.